Subjects:  1. Civics & Citizenship    2. General    3. Political Science    4. Politics / Current Events    5. Politics/International Relations    6. Constitution: government & the state    7. Political Science / General   

Reviews (16)

The sad truth
This book is about the destruction of our country by elected officials and Big Business "Interests."
Thom hits the nail on the head in all but this: education
Education in this country is big business and is so hopelessly institutionalized (that is, it has become an institution) Institutions are self-perpetuating.It is extremely difficult--if not impossible--to change anything about an institution, let alone eliminate it, because the individuals currently occupying places in the institution no longer have much to do with it. The institution sustains itself despite any particular complement of workers within it. Yes, individuals in positions to direct policy and command the workforce can fiddle with some things, but the institution itself will go on. (Note that major legislation affecting schools comes several layers above a district superintendent or even the schools board.)Thus, what Thom is saying about "fixing the schools" or "change the way we are teaching" is way off the mark. Teachers are drones within that institution of public education. The best of teachers can sometimes "make a difference" for one or two kids a year. But because of the context of schooling--one teacher, 35 kids, classes rotating in and out every 45 minutes--the young minds are dumbed down and rigidified such that critical/creating thinking is not only impossible, it is prohibited.
Must reading
This book by Thom Hartmann should be required reading in every school in the United States.He lays out concisely what our country has done and needs to do to have a Democracy and a middle class and clearly demonstrates how the so called conservatives now and all the way back to the founding of the nation haave tried to destroy democracy and the middle class in favor of corporatocracy and an elite ruling class.Simple to follow and understand.The book really puts everything into a clear perspective.
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Subjects:  1. Civics & Citizenship    2. Economic Conditions    3. Economic Policy    4. Government - U.S. Government    5. Political Freedom & Security - General    6. Political Science    7. Politics / Current Events    8. Politics/International Relations    9. Public Policy    10. Public Policy - Economic Policy    11. Social Classes    12. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    13. Political Science / Civics    14. USA   

Subjects:  1. Civics & Citizenship    2. General    3. Political Science    4. Politics - Current Events    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Politics and government    7. Politics/International Relations    8. United States    9. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    10. Political Science / General    11. USA   

Subjects:  1. Civics & Citizenship    2. Government - General    3. Political Science    4. Politics / Current Events    5. Politics and government    6. Politics/International Relations    7. Textbooks    8. United States    9. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    10. Political Science / General    11. USA   

Reviews (1)

Canceled Order
I canceled the order because the book would not get to me in time, and I did not want to pay for the express shipping. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Civics & Citizenship    2. General    3. Political Science    4. Politics / Current Events    5. Politics and government    6. Politics/International Relations    7. United States   

Reviews (1)

Wow
This book is extraordinary. I used it in supplement with an American Government book, and have learned bounds. Although this book was not on my reading list for class, the extra knowledge it provide from structure at various levels of government is amazing. A must buy! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Civics & Citizenship    2. Government - Local    3. Local government    4. Political Science    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Politics and government    7. Politics/International Relations    8. State governments    9. Textbooks    10. United States    11. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    12. Political Science / General    13. USA   

Subjects:  1. Civics & Citizenship    2. Government - U.S. Government    3. Political Process - Elections    4. Political Science    5. Politics - Current Events    6. Politics and government    7. Politics/International Relations    8. Textbooks    9. United States    10. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    11. Political Science / General    12. USA   

Subjects:  1. Civics & Citizenship    2. Constitutions    3. Political Ideologies - Democracy    4. Political Science    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Politics and government    7. Politics/International Relations    8. Textbooks    9. United States    10. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    11. Political Science / General    12. USA   

Subjects:  1. Civics & Citizenship    2. Politics / Current Events    3. Politics and government    4. Textbooks    5. United States    6. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    7. USA   

Subjects:  1. Civics & Citizenship    2. General    3. Political Science    4. Politics / Current Events    5. Politics and government    6. Politics/International Relations    7. United States   

Reviews (1)

Educational and Thorough
One of the most thorough books on government and its workings I've come across. Mr. Edwards is as good a researcher as he is a writer. A+ work.
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Subjects:  1. Civics & Citizenship    2. General    3. Political Science    4. Politics / Current Events    5. Politics/International Relations    6. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    7. Political Science / General    8. USA   

Subjects:  1. Civics & Citizenship    2. General    3. Political Science    4. Politics - Current Events    5. Politics and government    6. Politics/International Relations    7. United States    8. Political Science / General   

Reviews (4)

THIS BOOK IS A WASTE OF TREES!!!
This book did not help me at all...the content was ok but the strategies sucked and I ended up getting a 2 on the exam. It just gave 2 pages for strategies and it did not have practice questions at the end of each chapter like other books do. Use 5 steps to a 5 (a quarter of the book is about strategies), my friends used it and they said it was soo helpful. Also, this book says 06-07 version but it has been the same for 3 years (i saw the 2003 book in the library). Please take my advice and dont buy this book.

REALLY GOOD review book!!
It's REALLY GOOD!!! I got a 4 on the AP U.S. Gov't & Politics exam!!!

Extremely Helpful and Concise
Unlike Princeton Review's other test prep books where they constanly stuff your mouth with the 'latest' test taking techniques to help you score higher on the tests, Princeton Review does an amazing thing: they filled the book with CONTENT!!!The book is organized according to how college board organizes the information.Near the beginning of the topics (like Constitutional Underpinnings, Public Policy, Civil Rights, etc.), Princeton Review places a list of important terms.I made a terms worksheet and filled it in as I went - extremely helpful.
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Subjects:  1. Advanced Placement    2. Civics & Citizenship    3. Examinations    4. Examinations, questions, etc    5. Government - U.S. Government    6. Politics and government    7. Study Aids    8. Study Guides    9. Test Prep    10. United States    11. Study Aids / Advanced Placement   

Reviews (5)

Governmet? HA!
I absolutel hated this nook, it gave little factual information on the srtucture and founding of our government. The book also had an enormous left wing bias which is definately inappropriate for a college class. Instructors please find another textbook that is more interesting and deals with function and structure of government {if you want your students to read it ;) }
gooses review
The best features of this book include the charts which appear to have been all polled in new york state or california due to the leftist bias which makes me question the accuracy of any of the statistics.The thing that I liked least was the books negative attitude toward third parties which it attempted to emphasize as spoilers in political races.Besides that the side stories were interesting but of completely no use in showing how government works.The chapters were long and very repetative stating information several times as if it was new even though it had been explained several times before.The same examples were also used in many cases to explain different things.If you have a class with this book there is no point in reading the whole book.If you know nothing about political science you should read up to the last 4 chapters which are on rights and civil liberties this part is just common sense and can be largely opinionated.

I noticed a definite left tilt as well.
After having spent a semester taking a class requiring this book, I definitely noticed a rather liberal-leaning bias throughout most of the text.One of the obligations of national government, as stated by the text, is its "matter of fact" attitude that more wealthy individuals owe it to "impoverised" people through literally "taking money from more wealthy states" and giving it to poor states.Give me a break, there is so much socialism and liberal drivel in this book it made reading it a headache.
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Subjects:  1. Civics & Citizenship    2. General    3. Political Science    4. Politics / Current Events    5. Politics and government    6. Politics/International Relations    7. United States    8. Political Science / General   

Reviews (1)

Vigilance, Readers!
In fairness, I have not yet finished the book.Yet I am already disappointed that so little was included about the European ideological and theological heritage that went into the Articles and the Constitution.Also, very little was said about the motivations and concerns of the Anti-Federalists.Read more

Subjects:  1. Civics & Citizenship    2. General    3. Political Science    4. Politics / Current Events    5. Politics and government    6. Politics/International Relations    7. United States    8. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    9. Political Science / General    10. USA   

Reviews (1)

An interesting book that is relevant to US times
The idea of Wallis' book "God's Politics" was to have the general public, liberals in particular, learn something while both parties work together to improve their political differences that are having some negative effects on the world around them. For anyone in search of ways on how to make those transform those ideas into reality, this book is a must-have. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Christianity - Christian Life - Political Issues    2. Christianity and politics    3. Christians    4. Civics & Citizenship    5. Political activity    6. Religion    7. Religion - Christian Life    8. Religion And Politics    9. Religion, Politics & State    10. U.S. - Contemporary Politics    11. United States    12. Christian Interest    13. Religion / Christian Life    14. Religion / Church & State   

Reviews (32)

Disappointing.
I picked up this book after reading Douquet's wonderful op-ed piece in USA Today.As a veteran of the GWOT, I had hoped that it would be a serious piece of academic work analyzing trends and social factors behind why some people feel compelled to serve and others do not.I was sadly disappointed.Instead, the book unraveled into a highly personalized account of the author's personal lives and interactions with their friends.Furthermore, the back and forth style between the two authors at the beginning of the book drove me crazy.I can appreciate the fact that the author's personal experiences drove their perspectives, I just didn't expect that to drive the entire book.
We can avoid our progressive political polarization: reinstitute the Draft!!
No recent book on the war in Iraq has spoken more to the point than this: if we want to win this war against Islamic Fascism we must all pull together!! Serve our nation either in the military or in a civilian capacity as part of a National Service! Right now we are being defended by troops who are essentially "mercenaries" some in uniform, many not. We are dependent on Volunteers who justifiably are interested more in the spoils than in the sacrifices! This book emphasizes the needs and the means of shared sacrifice. We stand on the precipice of an abyss in which looms a divided, red/blue nation unaware that its lack of resolve to fight shoulder to shoulder at every level - social, economic and military against an implacable enemy who has already shown us his determination to die for a false cause. This book, written with enviable clarity, in non-scholarly terms can guide us to make the right decisions for a continued strong America!

Surveys the history, nature, and military policies that contribute to the military experience
AWOL: THE UNEXCUSED ABSENCE OF AMERICA'S UPPER CLASSES FROM MILITARY SERVICE AND HOW IT HURTS OUR COUNTRY considers class and the military - and how America's upper middle class members receive a different type of military experience - and sometimes none - than their less favored peers. Military service used to be part of good citizenship and all classes served equally. Today there's a class division that affects not only the quality of service, but whether there's service at all. AWOL surveys the history, nature, and military policies that contribute to the military experience, arguing that the lack of connection between the military and the ruling elite is becoming a serious issue.
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Subjects:  1. 21st century    2. Civics & Citizenship    3. Elite (Social sciences)    4. History    5. Military    6. Military - United States    7. Military History (General)    8. Military Science    9. Military service, Voluntary    10. Politics / Current Events    11. Social Classes    12. Social Groups    13. United States    14. Upper class    15. Political Science / Civics   

Reviews (3)

will not age well
[A review of the 7th Edition, 2004.]
The Subtleties of the Left
Patterson's American Democracy is engaging and accessible for Intro students in pol sci. But the text also reflects the pervasive and, apparently never-ending, influence of the Left in the academe. For instance, It is depressing and occasionally infuriating to soon discover that all examples of political peccadillos in US government included by the author in this text are of alleged Republican missteps or viciousness in government. A howler is his citing of bias on the right in Fox news, but without corresponding acknowledgement of a similar left bias in MSNB and CNN. For the intro student not attuned to the fiery partisanship of the current climate of US politics, Patterson's habits of quickly passing over these examples as if their accuracy was beyond dispute will be politically effective. But contemptible.

POL 201: american political systems
This was the text used for my introductory poly-sci class. This book is one of the better texts I've been required to read. It's very concise and easy to understand, but doesn't talk down to the student. A wonderfulreference and overview. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Civics & Citizenship    2. Government - National    3. Political Science    4. Politics / Current Events    5. Politics/International Relations    6. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    7. Political Science / Government / National   

Reviews (1)

American Government: Continuity and Change
While this textbook may seem inexpensive, you must also purchase an internet code to use along with it. They don't tell you this when you buy the book. As for the book itself, it's a hassle to keep together. Thumbs down. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Civics & Citizenship    2. General    3. Political Science    4. Politics - Current Events    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Politics and government    7. Politics/International Relations    8. Texas    9. United States    10. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    11. Political Science / General    12. USA   

Reviews (6)

It works!
I studied the Cliff Notes American Government book and Microsoft Encarta for 2 weeks and got a 68 on the CLEP. This book has got it all covered for you.
Almost perfect
I used this book as my ONLY study guide for the CLEP test of the same title.
Great for CLEP
I used this book to study for the American Government CLEP.I easily passed.I support what the other reviewers have said exactly- this book covers almost everything on the exam but a few questions and it does not contain much extra information that you don't need to know.Easy to read.Easy to understand. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Book Notes    2. Civics & Citizenship    3. Government - U.S. Government    4. Study Aids    5. Study Guides    6. Education    7. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    8. Political Science / Government / General    9. USA